23 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
A Belarusian opposition activist has claimed he was beaten and detained by police before being sentenced to 15 days in prison. Kastus Zhukouski was charged with insulting police and resisting arrest. The activist said he noticed a police car outside his house on Wednesday, containing several officers wearing special security uniforms. As Zhukouski began to film the car, he was attacked by three people from behind a dumpster and two others from the car. In court, Zhukouski complained of headache, nausea and pain in his neck, legs and hands. The judge ruled he should be taken to a clinic for an examination and treatment before the trial resumes.
21 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost
A journalist convicted of defaming the president of Belarus has lost his appeal. Polish-Belarusian journalist Andrzej Poczobut from Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza was found guilty of the defamation of President Alexander Lukashenko in July, and the Hrodna Oblast Court in western Belarus upheld the verdict against him yesterday. Poczobut was given a three year prison sentence, suspended for two years. The journalist argued that his rights were violated during the trial by KGB investigators and the prosecutor’s office. Poczobut said he would continue appealing the conviction throughout the system, up to and including the UN.
15 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Eleven Belarusian political prisoners who were released this week after a presidential pardon have been named. They are Pavel Vinahradau, Fyodra Mirzayanuu, Alyaksandr Klaskouski, Uladzimir Loban, Dzmitry Novik, Alyaksandr Atroshchankau , Alyaksandr Mauchanau, Aleh Fedarkevich, Dzmitry Bulanau, Illya Vasilevich and Mikita Likhavid,
Read more about Belarus’s political prisoners here
14 Sep 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has today pardoned 11 more political prisonerssentenced for taking part in anti-government protests on 19 December 2010. The full list of names is not yet known, but Index believes that activists Pavel Vinogradov and Fyodor Mirzayanov are among those released.
Around five others remain in prison. A government press release stated that Lukashenko had been “guided by the principles of humanity”.
In August, The Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it will no longer engage in “any type of capital-raising” on behalf of the government of Belarus after an Index on Censorship and Free Belarus Now campaign.
